New Suspected Narcolepsy Cases in Finland/ YLE

UPDATE:  Australia has banned 4 flu vaccines and approved 2 for children under age ten, on March 11, 2011.  The 2011 flu vaccine in Australia has identical antigens as last year.  According to The Australian, up to 1 in 100 children under five vaccinated with the CSL vaccine last year suffered a seizure, more than the ninefold increase previously reported (see below).

Now one in 10,000 Pandemrix (GSK)-vaccinated children in Finland have developed narcolepsy.  How does this relate to the ninefold increase in seizures in vaccinated Australian children (using the CSL vaccine)?  We have heard very little about adverse reactions other countries are finding.  Recall that in both Australia, Finland and Sweden, the rate of both seizures (Australia) and narcolepsy (Finland and Sweden) post-vaccination is at least 9 times greater than expected.  From YLE:

About ten new suspected cases of swine flu vaccine-related narcolepsy have been reported in Finland. The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) says that altogether 69 suspected cases of narcolepsy or cataplexy have been reported.

The diagnoses for seven of these patients are still in process.

Cataplexy is a severe muscle weakness that can lead to a complete collapse up to 20-30 times a day.

The THL has received 900 complaints regarding the Pandemrix vaccine by Wednesday. Of these, 182 have been classified as serious. Serious cases are those that demand hospital treatment, are life-threatening or could lead to death. The classification for those cases may yet change, since some patient data is missing.